School Licensure for
Distance Education Schools

The New York Board of Regents, through the State Education Department’s
Office of Adult Education & Workforce Development, is responsible for regulating and assuring the
quality of proprietary trade and business postsecondary education offered
within its borders. This includes schools located in New York State which
offer instruction, in part or entirely, through distance education methods,
such as correspondence, home study, electronic delivery, or any other distance
education method that may arise in the future.

Section 5001(1) of Education Law states, in part, that "No private
school or computer training facility which charges tuition or fees for instruction
and which is not exempted hereunder shall be operated by any person or persons,
firm, corporation, or private organization for the purpose of teaching or
giving instruction in any subject or subjects, unless it is licensed or
registered by the department…."

Section 5004(2) of Education Law states, in part, that "Instruction,
as contemplated by this section, shall be any plan or method for teaching
any subject or subjects in any form or manner, including correspondence
or home study."

When such distance higher education offerings originate outside of New
York State, the question arises as to whether that education is subject
to state regulation. New York uses the concept of “physical presence” to
determine whether it has the right and the responsibility to exercise its
regulatory quality assurance authority over education delivered through
distance education methods and originating from out of state.

If any out-of-state school has a physical presence in New York State, that
school must be appropriately licensed/registered and abide by all of the
provisions set forth in Sections 5001 through 5010 of Education Law and
Part 126 of the Regulations of Commissioner of Education.

The Bureau of Proprietary School Supervision considers an institution to
have a physical presence in New York State if it does one or more of the
following things:

Operates an instructional site (a physical site at which instruction
is given by a faculty member to a group of students) in New York
State. The fact that the instruction at that site is given through
an electronic medium (e.g., satellite delivery, videotape) rather
than through an instructor physically present in the room, does
not change the fact that it is an instructional site.

Sponsors organized activities within the State that are related to the
program of study (e.g., advising, mentoring, study groups, examination
administration).

Has a representative, whether paid or not, acting on its behalf within
the state to conduct instructional or academic support activities. This
would include a commercial vendor acting on behalf of the out-of-state-institution
providing services to students of that institution.

Activities that are NOT considered to establish physical presence in the
State are:

Communicating electronically with students in New York State
(e.g., by computer or broadcast) in ways that do NOT involve
an instructional site or an organized group activity.